


The hands of a sinner

by swallowthewhale



Series: Lemon Dreams [16]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Speculation, Spoilers, season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 07:45:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12338403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swallowthewhale/pseuds/swallowthewhale
Summary: Cisco finds out that Caitlin has been working for Amunet Black.Spoilers for the season 4 premiere and speculation for the future of the season





	The hands of a sinner

**Author's Note:**

> For an anon on tumblr who requested "how Cisco finds out about Caitlin being in the black market and stuff, and the fact that she probably now will have a lot of evil people trying to hurt her for quitting?"
> 
> I made some shit up because we got so little information about Caitlin's involvement with Blacksmith.

Caitlin stalks down the hallway in Star Labs, shaking the snow out of her hair. Her hands are still shaking from the brief loss of control, and she feels nauseous thinking about how she’s going to explain all this to Cisco.

He’s waiting for her in the cortex, leaning against the console with his arms crossed and his gaze set on her as soon as she walks in.

She hesitates in the doorway, then crosses more slowly to her desk, where she absently pokes through one of the drawers.

“What just happened, Caitlin?” he asks quietly.

She rubs her forehead. “Can we not do this here?”

“Then where? At home?” he asks blandly. “What happened?”

“That was Amunet Black, the Blacksmith. She runs a metahuman black market.” She pulls out a Star Labs sweatshirt and replaces her bloody shirt with it.

“And why was she looking for you?” Cisco’s voice is dangerously level.

Caitlin fiddles with the ends of the sleeves. “I used to work for her.”

She expects him to freak out, or laugh and not believe her, or even walk away. But he doesn’t even flinch. “Why?”

She takes a shaky breath. “I had to.”

Cisco frowns. “Of course you didn’t.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” she says more firmly, finally looking up at him.

“You always have a choice,” he snaps, standing. “You had a choice to take the cure or not, you had a choice to stay or leave, you had a choice to come back. You always have choices, Caitlin, even if they’re not easy ones.”

Caitlin swallows hard and stands to face him. “I didn’t have a choice, Cisco, because I’m not the one who decided to join the Network. Killer Frost did.”

His mouth firms into an unhappy line. “That’s the other thing. I thought you had her under control or something.”

“Not always,” Caitlin says bitterly.

“Well, what happened to ‘I’m not Caitlin or Killer Frost’?” Cisco asks. “Six months ago you made it seem like you’d managed to balance things out.”

Caitlin shrugs and turns away. “It didn’t last. Killer Frost took over for a while, joined the Network, and when I finally got control back, there wasn’t much I could do.”

Cisco is silent for a long moment, and Caitlin can feel his eyes burning into her. “Why didn’t you come home?” he asks quietly. “We could have helped you.”

Caitlin curls her fingers around the edge of the chair, focuses on the muscles in her hand so that her voice won’t waver. “I can’t rely on you to always bring me back,” she says. “I need to be able to reign in Killer Frost by myself, because you’re not always going to be around.”

She looks over her shoulder. Cisco’s eyes are soft. “Will you let me help now?”

Caitlin presses trembling lips together and nods.

He holds out his hand. “Do you need a hug? It looks like you need a hug.”

Caitlin laughs wetly. “I think you’re the one who wants a hug,” she teases, but she hugs him anyway.

“I’m glad you’re home,” Cisco whispers into her hair.

Caitlin squeezes tighter. “Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Imagine Dragons' "Mouth of the River"
> 
> Find me on tumblr @swallowthewhale


End file.
